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The invention relates to resealable dispensing closure systems that incorporate tamper-evident features. More particularly, the invention relates to closure lids that incorporate tamper-evident features, to resealable dispensing closure systems that combine such lids with a closure body and to methods for assembling such closure systems.
Various types of resealable dispensing closure systems are generally known in the prior art. They typically include a closure body provided with a dispensing orifice of suitable dimension and a closure lid for resealing the dispensing orifice. Frequently, the closure lid cooperates with the closure body through a hinge and the closure body, hinge and lid may molded as a unitary, integrated structure.
It is also known to incorporate tamper-evident features into resealable dispensing closure systems in order to detect post-installation tampering with the closure system. Prior art tamper-evident features typically include a drop ring that is integrally molded with and frangibly connected to the bottom of the closure body. The frangible connection is often provided by a membrane that extends around the closure body and which is provided with intermittent slits or an area of reduced thickness. Typically, such prior art drop rings are adapted to engage a drop ring bead which is molded into the container finish on a container with which the closure system is used. The drop ring bead is usually configured with an inclined surface to deform the drop ring in a radially outward direction to permit the drop ring to pass downward over the drop ring bead when the closure body is first installed on the container. The drop ring bead is also usually configured with a shoulder which abuts a corresponding surface on the drop ring to prohibit upward movement of the drop ring when the closure body unscrewed or otherwise moved relative to the container. Thus, after the initial installation of the closure, when the closure is initially opened or tampered with, the frangible connection is broken and the drop ring is wholly or partially severed from the closure body.
Known resealable dispensing closure systems that incorporate the above-described tamper-evident features are characterized by a number of disadvantages. One disadvantage is that known tamper-evident drop rings of the prior art, while suitable for evidencing movement of the closure body relative to the container, do not typically provide evidence of tampering of a resealable lid which may be provided on the closure body. For this reason, closure systems which incorporate a resealable lid are typically provided with additional tamper-evident features, for example, heat-shrinkable thermoplastic bands or perforated connections between the lid and closure body, to evidence tampering with the lid relative to the closure body. This results in increased cost and manufacturing time.
Another disadvantage of known resealable closure systems which incorporate tamper-evident features is that manufacturing, especially molding, of the tamper-evident features is often complex. For example, in the case of the above-described closure systems, the drop ring is molded as an integral portion of the closure body, but with a frangible connection which often involves rather complex mold configurations or complex molding techniques. In other tamper-evident closure systems, tamper-evident features are typically provided as parts which are separate from the primary closure structure and must therefore be assembled onto the primary closure structure after the closure structure is molded. Such manufacturing complexity increases the amount of manufacturing time and the associated expense of known closure systems.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide an improved closure lid with tamper-evident features and which, when used in a closure system with a closure body, provides evidence of tampering with the closure body relative to the container as well as evidence of tampering with the lid relative to the closure body. It would also be advantageous to provide such an improved closure lid and closure system which are easy and inexpensive to manufacture compared to the prior art.
It would also be advantageous if such an improved closure lid and associated closure system could accommodate bottles, containers, or packages which have a variety of shapes and that are constructed from a variety of materials. Further, it would be desirable if such an improved system could accommodate efficient, high-quality, large volume manufacturing techniques with a reduced product reject rate to produce a system with consistent operating characteristics.
The present invention provides an improved closure lid and dispensing closure system with tamper-evident features which addresses the aforementioned disadvantages in the prior art. The invention also provides an improved method of assembling a closure system. In particular, the present invention provides a tamper-evident closure lid and resealable dispensing closure system in which a single tamper-evident member or band is utilized to provide evidence of tampering with the closure body relative to the container as well as evidence of tampering with the resealable lid relative to the closure body. Moreover, the invention provides a closure lid and tamper-evident, resealable dispensing closure system that is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and assemble compared to prior art closure lids and closure systems.
The invention provides a closure lid with tamper-evident features, the lid being adapted to be used in one preferred form of a dispensing closure system that includes a closure body having a closure body skirt including at least one thread and extending to a closure body skirt bottom. The lid includes a lid skirt extending to a skirt bottom and may cooperate with the closure body through a hinge or may be separate from the closure body. A tamper-evident member in the form of a flexible, frangible tether member extends from the lid skirt and has a distal end and a proximal end. The proximal end is attached to the lid near or at the lid skirt and the distal end is attached to a drop ring. Preferably, the lid, frangible tether member and drop ring are provided as a unitary, integrally molded structure. As molded, the lid skirt bottom, frangible tether member and drop ring each have a surface portion which are all preferably substantially coplanar. The frangible tether member is of sufficient length to permit the drop ring to be positioned on the closure body skirt bottom when the closure system is configured into an assembled position. The drop ring preferably cooperates with the closure body skirt bottom through a fastening feature, which may be a snap-fit feature, to retain the drop ring on the closure body skirt bottom.
According to the inventive method, the molded lid, frangible tether member and drop ring are assembled on the closure body by first installing the lid in a closed position on the closure body. The drop ring is then pivoted downward relative to the lid, thereby causing the frangible tether member to become disposed adjacent the closure body skirt. The drop ring is snap-fit into place on the bottom of the closure body skirt to form a tamper-evident closure assembly. As the closure assembly is installed on a container having a threaded finish, the closure body is screwed onto the container and, as the closure body moves downward, with the drop ring is initially deformed by a drop ring lip provided on the container finish. Once the closure body moves to a fully installed position, the drop ring returns to its undeformed state and is retained by an abutting surface on the drop ring lip.
If the closure body is unscrewed from the container, the frangible tether member is severed since the drop ring is prohibited from moving upward by the container drop ring lip as the closure body is unscrewed. Moreover, if the lid is moved from its closed position relative to the closure body, the frangible tether member is severed since the drop ring, and therefore the frangible tether member, are prohibited from moving upward. Thus, the single tamper-evident feature in the form of the frangible tether member provides evidence of tampering with 1) the closure body relative to the container, and 2) the lid relative to the closure body.
The tamper-evident lid and closure system according to the invention also provide ease of manufacture and assembly. The molded configuration of the lid, frangible tether member and drop ring is relatively simple compared to prior art molded configurations, owing in part to the coplanar relationship of portions of the molded lid, frangible tether member and drop ring. Moreover, ease of assembly of closure systems incorporating the lid according to the invention is facilitated by the fastening feature provided on the drop ring. Thus, closure systems incorporating the inventive lid may be manufactured with less effort and expense than was required in prior art closure systems.
According to one primary aspect, the invention provides a tamper-evident structure for use in a closure system that includes a closure body having a dispensing orifice. The tamper-evident structure comprises (A) a lid for occluding the dispensing orifice, (B) a frangible tamper-evident member extending from a proximal end adjacent the lid to a distal end opposite the proximal end, and (C) a drop ring attached to the distal end of the frangible tether member.
According to another primary aspect, the invention provides a closure lid and tamper-evident feature combination for use on a closure system, the closure system including a closure body having a dispensing orifice, the combination comprising (A) a lid adapted to be moved between (1) a closed position in which the lid engages the closure body to occlude the dispensing orifice, and (2) an open position in which the lid is spaced away from the closure body, and (B) a tamper-evident feature integrally molded to form a unitary construction with the lid and including (1) a drop ring, and (2) a frangible tamper-evident member extending between the drop ring and the lid.
According to another primary aspect, the invention provides a method of assembling a tamper-evident closure system comprising (A) the step of integrally molding the closure system to form a unitary construction, the closure system including: (1) a closure body having a dispensing orifice for permitting flow through the closure body and a skirt defining a skirt bottom; (2) a lid having an as-molded condition in which it is in an open position relative to said closure body; and (3) a tamper-evident feature extending from the lid and including (a) a frangible tamper-evident member affixed to the lid, and (b) a drop ring affixed to the frangible tamper-evident member; (B) the step of moving the lid from the molded position to a closed position in which the lid engages the closure body and occludes the dispensing orifice; and (C) the step of fastening the drop ring to the skirt bottom and thereby orienting the frangible tamper-evident member adjacent the skirt, the frangible tamper-evident member thereby tending to fracture upon relative movement of the lid relative to the closure body and upon relative movement of the closure body relative to the drop ring.